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What is the fight-or-flight response?

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Quick answer

The fight-or-flight response is the body's automatic reaction to a perceived threat. It floods you with adrenaline, speeds your heart, and sharpens focus — preparing you to either confront the danger or flee from it. It's an automatic reaction to perceived danger.

Key things to understand

  1. It's an automatic reaction to perceived danger.
  2. Adrenaline and other hormones surge through the body.
  3. Heart rate, breathing, and alertness all spike.
  4. It prepares you to fight the threat or run from it.

People also ask

What is the fight-or-flight response?
The body's automatic surge of energy and alertness that prepares you to face or flee a threat.
What triggers fight-or-flight?
Any perceived danger or stressor, which the brain's alarm system reacts to instantly.
Why do we feel shaky when scared?
Adrenaline primes muscles for action, causing trembling, a racing heart, and heightened senses.